“I plead the 5th!” That phrase is heard from the mouths of children as well as adults. It has become a cliché. Children learn early in life what the phrase means and how and when to use it. They use it as a tool to keep themselves out of trouble or to keep from having to tattle on a sibling or friend. As children advance in their education, they study American history and are surprised to find that phrase comes from a very old document that the founding fathers of our country drafted and set into place as an integral part of our government’s system of law. That document is called the “Bill of Rights”. The statement, “I plead the 5th” is a reference to the Fifth Amendment from that document in which a citizen is protected by law from self-incrimination.

There are now 27 amendments to the U. S. constitution, but the first 10 are collectively called the Bill of Rights. James Madison who was part of the very first Congress led the charge in drafting The Bill of Rights in 1789, and the amendments officially became law in 1791. They were established to protect the American citizens against certain interferences from the federal government. (The Bill of Rights, 2012) A summary of these inalienable rights or guarantees is listed below. 1. Guarantees the freedom of speech, religion, press, and peaceful assembly 2. Guarantees the right to keep and bear arms

3. Guarantees the right to not be forced by the government to house and feed soldiers in peacetime 4. Guarantees the right to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures of our homes, our bodies, or our property, conducted by government officials 5. Guarantees the right to indictment by grand jury, to due process of law, and prohibits compulsory self-incrimination and double jeopardy 6. Guarantees the right to a speedy trial, and to be represented by a...

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...BILL OF RIGHTSBill of Rights
LaToya Davenport
Kaplan University
CJ500
Dr. Ron Wallace
June 04, 2013
Throughout United States history, there have been many changes to the laws society lives by today. There is a process to which laws are made and each amendment undergoes that specific process. Once that process is completed, the end result is what is now known as the United States Constitution. Inside that Constitution is the Bill of Rights which is used as a symbol to mold the rights and privileges of the United States citizens. This paper aims to explore each of the Bill of Rights Amendments with special emphasis on those Amendments related to due process protections and criminal procedures and examine the public’s general understanding of these protections based off the results of a 10 question survey given to selected participants about the Bill of Rights (See Appendix A).
The 1st amendment protects your right to believe and practice whatever religious principles you choose and your right to say what you believe, even if it is unpopular or against the will of elected officials. This amendment protects individuals against unlawful allegations and becomes a shield protecting the freedom of press and the freedom of speech. The most noticeable case that protects the previous...

...Today marks the 300th anniversary of the ratification Constitution and the bill of rights. To celebrate this day we are going to look through the years on how these documents helped create the identity of America. National governments and the state of the specific duties and powers as well as sharing the same laws, not laws adopted in accordance with the Constitution, the supreme law of the country. Creating three distinct branches; the legislative, executive and judicial. Each branch has specific powers to check at the same time capable of the powers of the other two branches. The government has to meet the legal, tax and laws. It judicial system has been constructed in which the Supreme Court of the United States has the last word on the laws .System of checks and balances between the three branches of power are combined in accordance with the Constitution and the legislature has been truly representative body of the people. An important feature of the Constitution is that it is constantly adapting to the times and has the ability to be amended so it would never be stuck in the past.
The Case between Dred Scott v. Sanford was a had a showed how much of an impact the amendments had on shaping America. In 1857 Dred Scott, an African-American slaves, was taken by his master, officer of the U.S. Army, the slave state of Missouri to the free state of Illinois and the free territory of Wisconsin. He lived on free soil for a long period. When the...

...The Bill of Rights is the collective name for the first ten amendments to the United States Constitution. Proposed to assuage the fears of Anti-Federalists who had opposed Constitutional ratification, these amendments guarantee a number of personal freedoms, limit the government's power in judicial and other proceedings, and reserve some powers to the states and the public. While originally the amendments applied only to the federal government, most of their provisions have since been applied to the states by way of the Fourteenth Amendment, a process known as incorporation.
The amendments were introduced by James Madison to the 1st United States Congress as a series of legislative articles. They were adopted by the House of Representatives on August 21, 1789, formally proposed by joint resolution of Congress on September 25, 1789, and came into effect as Constitutional Amendments on December 15, 1791, through the process of ratification by three-fourths of the states. While twelve amendments were proposed by Congress, only ten were originally ratified by the states. Of the remaining two, one was adopted 203 years later as the Twenty-seventh Amendment, and the other technically remains pending before the states.
The Bill of Rights had little judicial impact for the first 150 years of its existence, but was the basis for many Supreme Court decisions of the 20th and 21st centuries. One of the first fourteen copies of...

...﻿Bill of Rights
A brief history on how the Bill of Rights came forth. Back in the late 1700’s, several states were called for a constitution to protect individual’s rights from the government. Through these calls, James Madison came forth and put together the Amendments, which was later signed in 1791(1). What started off as 17 Amendments was trimmed down to 10 main one’s which is where we stand now with theBill of Rights. There are several key Amendments that tie into criminal law. Those amendments are 1st, 2nd, 4th, 5th, 6th and 8th. The 1st amendment allows individuals the freedom of speech. This does not allow the government to arrest anyone who lets say wants sit on a racial protest, or disallow anyone from following different religions. We as individuals have the right to follow whatever religions we choose. Now there are some twists that come into play with this Amendment. It does allow the “Freedom of Speech” but there are five rules you cannot break before being arrested and charged. Those five rules are, obscenity, profanity, liberal slander and or fighting words (1). If you express any of these conducts, you are subject to being arrested. There was a case in New Hampshire, where a gentleman called a marshal, “God-damned racketeer.” He was later convicted, because he used profanity in his speech (1). This is a prime example of how there are limits to...

...BILL OF RIGHTS: 1ST AMENDMENT
The Bill of Rights : it is the collective name for the first ten amendments to the United States Constitution. These limitations serve to protect the rights of liberty and property. They guarantee a number of personal freedoms, limit the government's power in judicial and other proceedings, and reserve some powers to the states and the public.
The First Amendment (Amendment I) :
Originally, the First Amendment applied only to laws enacted by the Congress. However, starting with Gitlow v. New York, the Supreme Court has applied the First Amendment to each state. This was done through the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, by what is called the Incorporation Doctrine. The Court has also recognized a series of exceptions to provisions protecting the freedom of speech.
Text: “ Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”
* Establishment of religion
* Free exercise of religion
* Freedom of speech : speech critical to the government, political speech ( anonymous speech, campaign finance, flag desecration, free speech zones), commercial speech, school speech, obscenity, memoirs of convicted criminals,...

...shall be deprived of its equal suffrage in the senate.”
*
* What problems with the original document motivated the adoption of the Bill of Rights?
* When the constitution was first written, many states feared they were creating a central government that was too strong. In order to quiet some of these fears, a Bill of Rights were included. If the three words that begin the preamble to the constitution, “We the People…” were to be taken seriously, then the rights of the people had to be protected. The Bill of Rights, adopted in 1791 is the first ten amendments to the constitution, and its purpose is to protect certain rights, and privileges of the people, which were not specifically written in the constitution. For example, freedom of press and speech which were so important to the revolution were not included in the constituting but were included in the Bill of Rights. The 9th and 10th amendments were also big ones which said just because of right were not specifically given doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist.
* During the debates on the adoption of the Constitution, its opponents repeatedly charged that the Constitution as drafted would open the way to tyranny by the central government. Fresh in their minds was the memory of the British violation of civil rights before and during the...

...Mendonca Anthropology 4Writing Assignment #109/09/14
Universal Declaration of Human Rights Versus United States Constitution
Human rights are inalienable which means “unable to be taken away from or given away by the possessor:” freedom of religion, is the most inalienable of all human rights. There are two documents in the United States that could not have been more beautifully written. The first document, The Declaration of Independence, which is a Declaration of War. The second being the Bill of Rights, ratified on the 15th day of December 1791. This paved the way for the great American experiment to take place.
There have been many debates claiming that the Bill of Rights is outdated and needs to be replaced. This could be because it is so well framed that it is almost bulletproof. Failure to cherish these rights has shown us through the history of other countries that this can be disastrous and devastating. An example of history tells of the Jews giving into the Nazi’s and allowing universal gun registries as the Jew’s were convinced that there would be no confiscation but Registration has always led to confiscation. Examples of this include Britain, Australia, Germany, and many more.
Written documents pertaining to self-preservation predate the Bill of Rights thousands of years. The Jewish Talmud states; “If someone comes to...

...The Bill of Rights
The First 10 Amendments
• By Keana Roby,
James Jamison,
Amber Fealy, &
Paige Evans.
1st Amendment
• The 1st Amendment guarantees
freedom of religion, speech, the
press, assembly, and petition.
• This means that we have the
right to –
• Practice any religion desired
• Speak freely
• Assemble (such as social
gatherings/meetings)
• Petition (address the
government, hold protests, etc.
• Press (to publish newspapers,
TV, radio, Internet
2nd Amendment
• The 2nd
Amendment
protects the right
to bear arms.
• Otherwise known
as, owning a gun.
3rd Amendment
• “No soldier shall, in time
of peace be quartered in
any house, without the
consent of the owner,
nor in time of war, but
in a manner to be
prescribed by law.”
• This means that
Americans cannot be
forced to house soldiers.
4th Amendment
• The 4th Amendment
protects the people from
unreasonable searches
and seizures.
• With this being said, the
government cannot take
our personal property
without a warrant based
on probable cause, and
also police cannot enter
our homes without a
warrant.
5th Amendment
• The 5th Amendment
protects people from
being held for
committing a crime
unless they are properly
indicted.
• You may not be tried
twice for the same
crime.
• You don’t have to testify
against yourself in court.
6th Amendment
• The 6th Amendment
guarantees a speedy trial...

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